Tamil Nadu Assembly polls | For the first time, EVMs carried up Neknamalai in a vehicle

For years, the machines used to be carried on donkeys or using dolis up the hill to this village in Vaniyambadi Taluk

Forty-year old Chinnathayi looks astonished as she sees a vehicle, carrying the EVM unit, snake up through a dusty dirt road on the rocky Neknamalai hill in Vaniyambadi Taluk. This is the first time the unit is being carried up the hill using motorised transport. "All these years, the machines used to be carried on donkeys or using dolis up the hill to Neknamalai village located five kilometers away from the foothills. This time, the dirt road was created by clearing the rocks to give us COVID-19 relief and because ministers visited our village, " recalls Ms. Chinnathayi, who was walking to the village with a bag of vegetables due to lack of transport facility. There are a total of 160 families in the Neknamalai village and out of this there are over 500 voters. The residents are farmers and their agriculture is rain-fed as water resources are scarce. For the past many years, the villagers have been expecting some improvement for their village. They are now a little satisfied after the dirt road was laid.